Scouts in town for 7-on-7 tournament

West Port’s Nick Hatcher runs with the ball during the 7-on-7 Summer Showdown at the Ocala Sportsplex on Saturday.

Alan Youngblood/Staff photographer

By Richard BurtonCorrespondent

Published: Saturday, July 27, 2013 at 11:57 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, July 27, 2013 at 11:57 p.m.

With the summer winding down, local football players had the chance to showcase their skills in the 7-on-7 Summer Showdown on Saturday afternoon at the Ocala Sportsplex.

Steve Rhem, a former NFL wide receiver and current assistant coach at Vanguard, teamed with Belleview assistant coach John Ivory to put the event together, and scouts from various recruiting services were on hand to evaluate prospects.

“I felt it went great and we got great feedback on the event,” Rhem said. “(Ivory) did a great job with this and it was a great event.

“We’re looking to make this even bigger next year. We want to go up to 32 teams. We plan on having out-of-state teams here next year. We’d have had three from Georgia this year, but they had travel conflicts, but all-in-all, this went very well and everyone was pleased.”

Among those on hand to watch the prospects was Dwight Thomas of LRS Sports Recruiting Services.

Thomas, a name famous with successful prep programs, has a great eye for talent.

He led Pensacola Escambia to Class 4A state titles in 1984-85 and coached NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith during his time in high school.

Thomas said there was an abundance of talent on hand at the tournament and was impressed with the way the event ran.

“There are D-I players on each team,” said Thomas, whose Escambia squad was one of four Pensacola schools to be ranked in the USA Today Top 25 National Poll in the 1980s. “One out of every 111 players that puts on a football helmet in Florida earns a D-I scholarship. That’s the best in the nation. Louisiana is second at 172 and Georgia is third at 185.

“That speaks volumes about what the coaches in the state of Florida are doing.”

Thomas hopes high school coaches in the Sunshine State get their due for their efforts like the one they put forth on Saturday to showcase their student-athletes.

“Our coaches do the best job, but they are treated the worst,” Thomas said. “I’ve counted 159 coaches who have moved from Florida to Georgia (due to things such as pay) and I am sure there are a lot more. It’s tough to be a coach these days with having to teach a six-period day, duties (outside of the classroom such as meetings and evaluations) and making the same salary year-after-year.

“The coaches in this state need to be recognized for what they are doing. We have the best football in the country here and we want them to have the chance to finish what we started.”

Thomas said Dade City Pasco’s Nate Craig was the top player at the event.

“He will get offers from everyone,” Thomas said. “He is a major USA recruit.”

In all, Thomas said Jacksonville Ribault and Tampa Blake had the most D-I recruits at the 13-team event with four each.

Locals Belleview, North Marion, Vanguard and West Port were right behind the aforementioned schools with three apiece, according to Thomas.

The Knights went 2-2 in the seeding round, losing to both Ribault and Blake, which received byes all the way to the championship quarterfinals.

Vanguard led Ribault late in the semifinals, but Trojan quarterback D.J. Gillins, a Wisconsin commit, led his team on the go-ahead touchdown drive.

From there, Ribault picked off VHS quarterback Adam Robles and secured the win.

“I thought we did some things well and I thought the tournament was great,” Knights coach Alex Castaneda said. “Ribault got us both times today with last-minute touchdowns, but our kids played hard.”

North Marion joined Vanguard in being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

The Colts, who went 3-1 in pool play including a 25-23 win over Pasco and Craig, were knocked out of the tournament with a four-point loss to Trenton, the Class 1A state runner-up to Bratt Northview a year ago.

Meanwhile, Belleview and West Port’s varsity groups were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

The Rattlers were knocked off 30-23 by Chiefland, and the Wolf Pack were downed by Vanguard 30-25.

<p>With the summer winding down, local football players had the chance to showcase their skills in the 7-on-7 Summer Showdown on Saturday afternoon at the Ocala Sportsplex.</p><p>Steve Rhem, a former NFL wide receiver and current assistant coach at Vanguard, teamed with Belleview assistant coach John Ivory to put the event together, and scouts from various recruiting services were on hand to evaluate prospects.</p><p>“I felt it went great and we got great feedback on the event,” Rhem said. “(Ivory) did a great job with this and it was a great event.</p><p>“We're looking to make this even bigger next year. We want to go up to 32 teams. We plan on having out-of-state teams here next year. We'd have had three from Georgia this year, but they had travel conflicts, but all-in-all, this went very well and everyone was pleased.”</p><p>Among those on hand to watch the prospects was Dwight Thomas of LRS Sports Recruiting Services.</p><p>Thomas, a name famous with successful prep programs, has a great eye for talent. </p><p>He led Pensacola Escambia to Class 4A state titles in 1984-85 and coached NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith during his time in high school.</p><p>Thomas said there was an abundance of talent on hand at the tournament and was impressed with the way the event ran.</p><p>“There are D-I players on each team,” said Thomas, whose Escambia squad was one of four Pensacola schools to be ranked in the USA Today Top 25 National Poll in the 1980s. “One out of every 111 players that puts on a football helmet in Florida earns a D-I scholarship. That's the best in the nation. Louisiana is second at 172 and Georgia is third at 185.</p><p>“That speaks volumes about what the coaches in the state of Florida are doing.”</p><p>Thomas hopes high school coaches in the Sunshine State get their due for their efforts like the one they put forth on Saturday to showcase their student-athletes.</p><p>“Our coaches do the best job, but they are treated the worst,” Thomas said. “I've counted 159 coaches who have moved from Florida to Georgia (due to things such as pay) and I am sure there are a lot more. It's tough to be a coach these days with having to teach a six-period day, duties (outside of the classroom such as meetings and evaluations) and making the same salary year-after-year.</p><p>“The coaches in this state need to be recognized for what they are doing. We have the best football in the country here and we want them to have the chance to finish what we started.”</p><p>Thomas said Dade City Pasco's Nate Craig was the top player at the event.</p><p>“He will get offers from everyone,” Thomas said. “He is a major USA recruit.”</p><p>In all, Thomas said Jacksonville Ribault and Tampa Blake had the most D-I recruits at the 13-team event with four each.</p><p>Locals Belleview, North Marion, Vanguard and West Port were right behind the aforementioned schools with three apiece, according to Thomas.</p><p>The Knights went 2-2 in the seeding round, losing to both Ribault and Blake, which received byes all the way to the championship quarterfinals. </p><p>Vanguard led Ribault late in the semifinals, but Trojan quarterback D.J. Gillins, a Wisconsin commit, led his team on the go-ahead touchdown drive.</p><p>From there, Ribault picked off VHS quarterback Adam Robles and secured the win.</p><p>“I thought we did some things well and I thought the tournament was great,” Knights coach Alex Castaneda said. “Ribault got us both times today with last-minute touchdowns, but our kids played hard.”</p><p>North Marion joined Vanguard in being eliminated in the quarterfinals.</p><p>The Colts, who went 3-1 in pool play including a 25-23 win over Pasco and Craig, were knocked out of the tournament with a four-point loss to Trenton, the Class 1A state runner-up to Bratt Northview a year ago. </p><p>Meanwhile, Belleview and West Port's varsity groups were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.</p><p>The Rattlers were knocked off 30-23 by Chiefland, and the Wolf Pack were downed by Vanguard 30-25.</p>